Global Economic Intersection
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Investments
    • Invest in Amazon $250
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Best Bitcoin Accounts
    • Bitcoin Robot
      • Quantum AI
      • Bitcoin Era
      • Bitcoin Aussie System
      • Bitcoin Profit
      • Bitcoin Code
      • eKrona Cryptocurrency
      • Bitcoin Up
      • Bitcoin Prime
      • Yuan Pay Group
      • Immediate Profit
      • BitQH
      • Bitcoin Loophole
      • Crypto Boom
      • Bitcoin Treasure
      • Bitcoin Lucro
      • Bitcoin System
      • Oil Profit
      • The News Spy
      • Bitcoin Buyer
      • Bitcoin Inform
      • Immediate Edge
      • Bitcoin Evolution
      • Cryptohopper
      • Ethereum Trader
      • BitQL
      • Quantum Code
      • Bitcoin Revolution
      • British Trade Platform
      • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Reddit
    • Celebrities
      • Dr. Chris Brown Bitcoin
      • Teeka Tiwari Bitcoin
      • Russell Brand Bitcoin
      • Holly Willoughby Bitcoin
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Investments
    • Invest in Amazon $250
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Best Bitcoin Accounts
    • Bitcoin Robot
      • Quantum AI
      • Bitcoin Era
      • Bitcoin Aussie System
      • Bitcoin Profit
      • Bitcoin Code
      • eKrona Cryptocurrency
      • Bitcoin Up
      • Bitcoin Prime
      • Yuan Pay Group
      • Immediate Profit
      • BitQH
      • Bitcoin Loophole
      • Crypto Boom
      • Bitcoin Treasure
      • Bitcoin Lucro
      • Bitcoin System
      • Oil Profit
      • The News Spy
      • Bitcoin Buyer
      • Bitcoin Inform
      • Immediate Edge
      • Bitcoin Evolution
      • Cryptohopper
      • Ethereum Trader
      • BitQL
      • Quantum Code
      • Bitcoin Revolution
      • British Trade Platform
      • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Reddit
    • Celebrities
      • Dr. Chris Brown Bitcoin
      • Teeka Tiwari Bitcoin
      • Russell Brand Bitcoin
      • Holly Willoughby Bitcoin
No Result
View All Result
Global Economic Intersection
No Result
View All Result

Bank Fraud: Underlings Arrested, Banks Too Big to Indict

admin by admin
December 12, 2012
in Uncategorized
0
0
SHARES
16
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Econintersect:  The first three arrests have been made in London in connection with the LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) rate-fixing scandal.  Three unnamed banksters-economist-cover-liborSMALLtraders were taken into custody Tuesday (11 December 2012).  According to the Associated Press the three were British nationals.  Reports have not revealed where the three were employed.

The arrests were made by London police in collaboration with the SFO (Serious Fraud Office) of the British government.  Other criminal investigations are ongoing around the world, according to Reuters, but the only arrests thus far are these in London.  Reuters specifically mentioned that investigations were underway “across Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan.”

Editor’s note: In the article that follows editorial comments are mixed with the news.

It has not been mentioned if the three arrested worked for Barclays Bank (NYSE:BCS) but that is considered likely because Barclays is at the center of the scandal, which may extend to at least 16 other large banks, and has been leading the way with regard to cooperation with investigators, according to the Associated Press.

Barclays has already paid fines of $450 million to U.S. and U.K. regulators in this matter.

In a separate case, a settlement has been announced in New York for HSBC (NYSE:HSB) to settle criminal fraud charges by paying a “fine” and other charges totaling $1.92 billion.  The charges concerned the failure of the bank to conform to legal requirements to prevent money laundering for clients doing business with customers in Iran, Libya, Sudan, Burma and Cuba.  In other words, these are fines for permitting the bank to commit felonies.  Reuters has said that HSBC is “too big to indict.”

Click to watch Reuters video.

banks-too-big-to-indict

Additional civil penalties against HSBC were due to be announced later Tuesday.

According to relbanks.com HSBC is the fourth largest bank in the world based on total assets of  $2.7 trillion.  There are 15 banks with assets in excess of $2 trillion and 11 more with assets over $1 trillion.  Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is 30th on the list with assets of $949 billion.

Based on past legal actions, too big to indict reaches down the bank list at least to #30 because Goldman agreed to a settlement of a major securities fraud case (Abacus) in 2010.  (See list below.)

Other failures to pursue criminal action of note would include:

  • Civil case filed in October against Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) seeking $1 billion for defrauding the government;
  • Agreement in September by Bank of America to settle securities fraud case by payment of $2.425 billion settlement;
  • Agreement in April by Bank of America to settle charges of fraudulent mortgage processing with the payment of $2.38 billion;
  • Settlement in February of mortgage servicing fraud cases against major U.S. banks with a collective payment of $26 billion in penalties;
  • Citigroup’s settlement with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) of mortgage-backed securities fraud charges with payment of $286 million in November 2011 – ruled “neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest” by an appeals court judge;
  • Bank of America agreed in January 2011 to pay $2.8 billion to settle claims it defrauded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and

  • Goldman Sachs settlement for $550 million  in July 2010 to settle fraud charges by the SEC regarding the sub-prime mortgage backed security named Abacus 2007-AC1.  A lower-level Goldman exec awaits a 2013 trial in connection with this matter but no high level executives have been charged with any wrong-doing.

In spite of all the billions paid in penalties for fraud committed, the economic loss that resulted was much larger, in the trillions according to Bloomberg.  With total losses including penalties, fines and settlements amounting perhaps $200 – $250 billion (see “Mortgage Mess Liabilities Sap Banks“), banks and banksters are getting away with fraud on a grand scale by paying pennies on the dollar of total damages and totally escaping criminal prosecution.

The question raised previously is how far down the list does (TBTI) too big to indict extend.  The history described above indicates it goes down the top bank list at least to # 30 (Goldman Sachs).  Shown below for reference is the top 40 list from relbanks.com:

Click on table to enlarge.

banks-top-40-2012-relbanks-dot-com-580

* The exchange rate on September 30, 2012
Last Modified: December 7, 2012

For the U.S., the top six banks (shown in top 40 table) hold 73% of all the commercial bank assets (approximately $13 trillion) in the U.S., using the 07 December 2012 data from the Federal Reserve.

Denis Santiago reported on the concentration of banking through the end of 2009.  He chose to use the benchmark of $100 billion in assets for classifying large banks in the U.S. (final entry below is from current data):

  • At the end of 2000 there were 7 such banks and they controlled 27% of all U.S. bank assets.
  • At the end of 2005 there were 13 such banks and they controlled 41% of all U.S. bank assets.
  • At the end of 2007 there were 17 such banks and they controlled 53% of all U.S. Bank assets.
  • At the end of 2009 there were 16 such banks and they controlled 56% of all U.S. bank assets.
  • As of 07 December 2012 just 6 mega banks control 73% of all U.S. banking assets.

A Mafioso organization could not have been more successful with any bribery corruption scheme.

When the data above is plotted it is clear how little impact the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) had on the rapacious aggregation of assets by the megabanks.  It could be said that the GFC was merely a zit on the face of oligarchy.

banks-assets-for-biggest

John Lounsbury

Sources:

  • UK authorities arrest 3 in LIBOR rate manipulation investigation (Associated Press, Washington Post, 11 December 2012)
  • HSBC to pay $1.9 billion U.S. fine in money-laundering case (Carrick Mollenkamp and Brett Wolf, Reuters, 11 December 2012)
  • Bank of America:  Sued for Defrauding Government (GEI News , 24 October 2012)
  • In re Bank of America Corp. Sec. Litig., No. 09 MDL 2058 (DC) (S.D.N.Y.) (The Bank of America Securities Litigation, 28 September 2012)
  • States Negotiate $26 Billion Agreement for Homeowners (Nelson D. Schwartz and Shaila Dewan, The New York Times, 08 February 2012)
  • Judge:  SEC Settlement with Citi Too Lenient (GEI News , 29 November 2012)
  • Settlement Agreements Reached and Mortgage Fraud Continues (GEI News, 02 September 2011)
  • Bank of America Settles with GSEs (GEI News, 03 January 2011)
  • Goldman Sachs to Pay Record $550 million to Settle SEC Charges Related to Subprime Mortgage CDO (SEC press release, 15 July 2010)
  • Top Banks in the World 2012 (relbanks.com)
  • Assets and Liabilities of Commercial Banks in the United States (Weekly) – H.8 (Federal Reserve Bank, 07 December 2012)
  • Solving “Too Big Too Fail”:  The Pursuit of Clarity (Dennis Santiago, Huffington Post, 03 April 2012)
Previous Post

Banks “Sitting On Reserves” Is A Fallacy

Next Post

Differentiation Among Commodities May Be Very Bullish for Gold Producers

Related Posts

Production of French Salers Cheese Shut Down Due To Drought
Business

Production of French Salers Cheese Shut Down Due To Drought

by John Wanguba
August 16, 2022
Ethereum ICO Whale Address Moves 145K ETH After 3 Years Of Silence
Economics

Ethereum ICO Whale Address Moves 145K ETH After 3 Years Of Silence

by John Wanguba
August 15, 2022
Australian Court Instructs Google To Pay $43M For Misinforming Users
Econ Intersect News

Australian Court Instructs Google To Pay $43M For Misinforming Users

by John Wanguba
August 15, 2022
Dollar Fell Marginally Last Week As Inflation Seems To Peak
Economics

Dollar Fell Marginally Last Week As Inflation Seems To Peak

by John Wanguba
August 15, 2022
Mark Cuban Sued For Supposedly Promoting Crypto Ponzi Scheme
Business

Mark Cuban Sued For Supposedly Promoting Crypto Ponzi Scheme

by John Wanguba
August 15, 2022
Next Post

Differentiation Among Commodities May Be Very Bullish for Gold Producers

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse by Category

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

adoption altcoins banking banks Binance Bitcoin Bitcoin adoption Bitcoin market Bitcoin mining blockchain BTC business China Coinbase crypto crypto adoption cryptocurrency crypto exchange crypto market crypto regulation decentralized finance DeFi Elon Musk ETH Ethereum finance funding inflation investment market analysis markets Metaverse mining NFT NFTs nonfungible tokens nonfungible tokens (NFTs) price analysis regulation Russia social media technology Tesla the US Twitter

Archives

  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • August 2010
  • August 2009

Categories

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized
Global Economic Intersection

After nearly 11 years of 24/7/365 operation, Global Economic Intersection co-founders Steven Hansen and John Lounsbury are retiring. The new owner, a global media company in London, is in the process of completing the set-up of Global Economic Intersection files in their system and publishing platform. The official website ownership transfer took place on 24 August.

Categories

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Production of French Salers Cheese Shut Down Due To Drought
  • Ethereum ICO Whale Address Moves 145K ETH After 3 Years Of Silence
  • Australian Court Instructs Google To Pay $43M For Misinforming Users

© Copyright 2021 EconIntersect - Economic news, analysis and opinion.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Bitcoin Robot
    • Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Code
    • Quantum AI
    • eKrona Cryptocurrency
    • Bitcoin Up
    • Bitcoin Prime
    • Yuan Pay Group
    • Immediate Profit
    • BitIQ
    • Bitcoin Loophole
    • Crypto Boom
    • Bitcoin Era
    • Bitcoin Treasure
    • Bitcoin Lucro
    • Bitcoin System
    • Oil Profit
    • The News Spy
    • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Trader
  • Bitcoin Reddit

© Copyright 2021 EconIntersect - Economic news, analysis and opinion.

en English
ar Arabicbg Bulgarianda Danishnl Dutchen Englishfi Finnishfr Frenchde Germanel Greekit Italianja Japaneselv Latvianno Norwegianpl Polishpt Portuguesero Romanianes Spanishsv Swedish